Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN AGAINST THE MARBLE WALL
Adeline Croft, once a brilliant trauma nurse, was forced into hiding as a housemaid to protect and afford medical care for her dying sister, Josie. At an elite gala hosted by Chicago’s reigning underworld scion, Enzo Marquetti, his cruel fiancée, Camila Ashford, publicly whipped Adeline with an antique riding crop in front of two hundred silent elite guests. Enzo intervened, catching the crop midair, wrapping his jacket around Adeline's bloodied arms, and shutting down the humiliation. In a quiet linen room, Adeline treated her own wounds with clinical, surgical efficiency—a detail noted by both Enzo and Ambrose, the elderly butler. As dawn approached, Ambrose slipped her extra money, warning her to keep quiet and revealing that he already knew the truth: she was no ordinary housemaid.
